Rocky Johnson steps down as Howell hockey coach after 2 regional titles in 5 years
HOWELL — The biggest moments for Howell hockey in the past five seasons wouldn’t be difficult for most observers to select.
There was the regional championship in 2020, a season that ended with the Highlanders prepared to play a state semifinal that was canceled by the COVID shutdowns.
There was another regional championship this past season for a team that rose to No. 5 in the state Division 1 rankings.
Those aren’t the biggest memories Rocky Johnson will take away from his time leading the Highlanders.
“Honestly, it’s the relationships with the kids,” said Johnson, who has stepped down after five years as head coach and 10 years coaching in the Howell program.
“It’s getting the text messages from past players saying, ‘Man, this is what you did for me and this is how you impacted my life for the better.’ That’s really what it is. That’s the best part of it all for me.”
It’s relationships closer to home that made Johnson, 60, decide to step aside.
His daughter in Oklahoma is due to give birth in July, so Johnson wants the flexibility to be able to visit as often as possible without the demands of running a high-caliber hockey program.
“We want to be participating in that as much as possible and be around for that,” Johnson said. “They live there, we live here. It’s just time to spend more time with our grand kid. These kids who play here, they deserve a lot more focus and a lot more time. I wouldn’t be able to give it to them like they deserve.”
Howell was 66-56-5 during Johnson’s five seasons as head coach while playing in the tough KLAA West with the likes of Brighton, Hartland, Livonia Stevenson and Salem. The Highlanders reached the regional final in four of his five seasons.
The former minor league player, who reached the International Hockey League level with Phoenix, began coaching at Howell as a favor to then-coach Mike Mantua. He remained on the staff during Eric Hirzel’s two seasons as head coach.
“Mike Mantua asked if I could help out a little bit,” Johnson said. “I came out and pushed some pucks. I came out to see if what I knew about the game translated; it did. Eric Hirzel didn’t want to stick around and it kind of fell in my lap.”
Johnson grew up in the New England area, but felt at home coaching in Howell.
“It was an amazing situation,” he said. “The opportunity to be invited into families and into their homes and their lives, you can’t put a price on that. To be able to have the experience of raising young boys into men and using hockey as the vehicle, it’s a great privilege. You learn the whole time from the families and the kids and about yourself. It was amazing.”
Johnson is the second coach of a successful Howell winter sport to step down in recent weeks, following boys basketball coach Nick Simon.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Rocky Johnson steps down after 5 years as Howell hockey coach
